This weekend, Welsh Liberal Democats have held their conference in Newport. One of these years, I must try and get there because it sounds great fun.

Kirsty Williams closed Conference this afternoon with her leader’s speech. A few weeks ago, I linked to an article she wrote for St David’s Day which expressed her pride in her nation with such positivity that I suggested that those in the pro-UK campaign in Scotland should take note. She was every bit as proud and passionate today. She outlined the Labour governments failures in health and education and read a series of headlines in the UK press which criticised the Welsh record. She said that every instinct wanted to defend her country and called on the First Minister Carwyn Jones to do better, to raise attainment and improve health services.

On Europe, she took a good bit of time to remind us how the EU has protected us from the tragedy of European war.

She also highlighted the achievements of the UK Liberal Democrats in Government, raising the tax threshold, implementing further devolution for Wales. That party of IN phrase was in evidence, but she put her own stamp on it

It was a speech full of fire and heart. We need to see more of Kirsty on the UK stage.

Here is her speech in full:

 Well what a great conference this has been.  I would like to thank the staff, members and the conference committee, particularly Veronica German and Jacqui Sullivan, for helping to make this weekend such a success.

Now, conference, we in Wales have much to be proud of

As a country of just over three million,

we really do punch above our weight.

Every year we reach new, impressive heights.

We are a nation of welcoming people; exceptional people:

Only recently I had the privilege of meeting Dr Lyn Evans.

You might not have heard of Dr Evans,

But he directed the building of the Large Hadron Collider, which revealed what is thought to be the elusive Higgs Boson – the ‘The God Particle’

Now, I can’t pretend to quite have followed every word Dr Evans said…

But hearing of his achievements filled me with immense pride

As the son of a miner, Dr Evans was born and raised in Aberdare and grew up in a council house in Cwmbach

He studied physics at Swansea University and is now one of the most respected scientists in the world

Impressive stuff, but, of course, he’s not the only Welsh boy made good

Stars like Michael Sheen – the latest in a long line of world class actors -starring in Hollywood blockbusters often against the backdrop of our beautiful landsdscape.

We continue to triumph in the world of sport:

Gareth Bale has became a household name across the globe,

Geraint Thomas and Becky James have taken the world of cycling by storm,

And in rugby… ah okay, that hasn’t gone quite as well as we’d have liked this year.

There are people doing incredible things each and every day that don’t make the headlines

– Ordinary people doing extraordinary things –

I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit Welsh doctors and nurses volunteering and training before deployment to the Welsh Field Hospital in Helmand Province

In my own constituency, I met with volunteers who were preparing to go to Mali to improve maternity services –

– People saving lives in extraordinary circumstances

We’ve unsung heroes –

Our Welsh farmers supply the best restaurants in the world with delicious Welsh lamb and beef

You probably don’t know, but there’s a factory in Rhayader making gearboxes for Formula One cars

Airbus – building the wings that make the biggest plane in the world fly

All helping to make Wales a brand on the international stage

It’s impossible not to be patriotic when we have so much to be proud of

Wales – an increasingly modern, confident, outward looking nation.

But we have not lost the values that make our communities so strong.

Last weekend I attended a funeral in my constituency.

This wasn’t a tearful send off and thanksgiving for a long life.

It was a heartfelt good bye to a young father – yet to see forty.

This was a coming together of people united in grief for a wife who had her husband snatched away from her by cancer.

It was a community united in its support for the children deprived of their dad.

The chapel was over flowing

The graveyard was packed

There was so many of us we spilled out into the road

And there was palpable feeling of that community coming together to support one of their own in their time of need

There are communities like that up and down Wales.

Proud

Caring

Independent

This great nation of ours which has so many talented people and such great community spirit, is too often being let down by a lacklustre government that fails to deliver time and time again.

 

Conference, it has been a significant few months in Welsh politics.

A shift in focus.

For so long, the National Assembly and Welsh politics have been almost universally ignored by the UK media

But the game has changed

Now, it seems that Welsh issues have never been higher on the agenda

For years the Welsh Labour Government has enjoyed minimal UK media coverage

But Conference, things have changed.

The chickens have come home to roost, and Welsh Labour doesn’t like it

Barely a day goes by when we don’t see another exposé on Wales’ public services,

Wales is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, here is just a sample:

‘More harrowing tales of care in Wales’  – the Telegraph laments

‘PISA ranks Wales worst in UK ‘ – says the BBC

‘Soaring NHS waiting lists, plummeting schools standards’ – screamed the Daily Mail

‘Welsh hospitals face investigation’ – reports the Guardian

They go on and on and on.  Conference, for me, it feels really quite strange

Personally, I have this immediate reflex to jump to the defence of my country, no matter what.

It’s just so sad

We are such a great nation

And we are so much better than those headlines

This isn’t what I want people to read about us.

But it’s not just sadness that I feel: It’s anger too

I know that these stories may be motivated by a political agenda, but many are accurate and too often based on truth

nd the truth does hurt.

Parts of our health service – struggling like never before

Too many of our schools are underperforming –  all of them underfunded

Our economy lags behind the rest of the UK

And I am furious that we as nation are being portrayed in this manner

We were once the nation that championed education –

– we were pioneers of state schools, high standards and achievement and had one of the first universities that was open to all,

Now we underperform at every level.

We were the nation of Nye Bevan, founder of the NHS.

Yet only last week, we saw lives put at risk with the worst ambulance response times for years.

We were once the powerhouse of Britain and the world, providing the copper, iron, coal and steel that built our railways, our homes, our infrastructure

Now we have the weakest economy in the UK

With all that in mind, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that the UK media is beginning to notice.

Last week Carwyn Jones said these criticisms weren’t a war on Welsh Labour, or the Welsh Government, but a war on Wales as an entire nation

How dare he take cover behind the people he is meant to lead

What kind of leader does that?

These headlines might hurt our sense of national pride, but we must not forget, it is Labour that is Wales’ weak link

Labour – that is holding us back

Labour – the weight around our nation’s neck

Of course, it suits both Labour and the Tories to have their ‘so-called’ War.

They can both unite their troops in the face of the enemy.

But in a war, there are casualties, innocent victims.

And in this war the only people that suffer are the Welsh people.

Devolution must work regardless of who is in Government either end of the M4 –

-It shouldn’t just be about point-scoring

 

You know, a couple of weeks ago the First Minister called me aside at the Assembly and said he needed some assistance.

He was having trouble getting an answer from the Prime Minister about electrification of the Valleys lines.

Network Rail were about to stop work on the project because of a disagreement between the Governments about money.

And he said that he would have to go the media if progress wasn’t made.

Now, I know I sometimes can have a go at Carwyn Jones at FMQs

– but I have always taken the view that if we need to work together to make something happen for Wales, we should always do so.

So, I arranged to speak to Nick.  And Nick spoke to Cameron.

And Carwyn got his reply.

Network rail were instructed to carry on work

And the Prime Minister gave assurances that discussions between officials should take place.

The issue wasn’t concluded. But the risk of work not progressing was lifted and the offer to carry on talking was there.

And in life, in work, that is what grown-ups do – talk

I think most people would expect the two governments to talk together sensibly to make progress on this for the people of Wales.

But the First Minister wanted the row in the media.

Risking the delivery of a project that is crucial to Wales’ economic development and improving prospects for people in the valleys – people that have backed Labour for generations.

You know, it is said that:

“The difference between a politician and a statesman is that a politician thinks about the next election, while the statesman thinks about the next generation”

Carwyn Jones, it’s time to start thinking about the next generation.

Sadly, already a generation of our children have been let down by an education system that continues to struggle

At the end of last year, again we had to witness poor PISA results for Wales

These tests show how we are comparing on the international stage.

For the third time in a row, Wales fell behind the rest of the UK in reading, maths and science.

the Welsh Government’s target is to be in the top 20 countries by 2015, yet we are barely scraping into the top 40

 Now, the truth is that all governments make mistakes –

But we are beyond that

In response to Wales’ dire PISA results, Carwyn Jones and his Education Minister, said they had taken ‘their eye off the ball’

I ask you, how does a Government take its eye off the ball on education?

What is more important than education?  What is more critical than our nation’s future?

The First Minister last week admitted that the school system under his Government had “coasted” for too long

This isn’t just incompetent

It’s worse

It’s reckless

And conference:  It Is Wrong

Alan Milburn, a former Labour UK cabinet minister, recently lead a report into child poverty.

His wasn’t an analysis of education systems but a comparison of how countries support their most deprived communities, of how children from similar backgrounds get on.

and it was damning:

It showed that in Labour’s Wales, a child from the poorest background is much less likely to do well at school than children from similar backgrounds in England.

Labour’s Wales, where the poorest pupils are half as likely to obtain five good GCSEs than their English counterparts

Labour’s Wales, where even by the age of 5, children are already lagging behind pupils across the border.

Education is the foundation of a stronger economy and a fairer society and that’s why the Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to prioritise extra support for Wales’ poorest children

The Pupil Premium, which is more money for our poorest pupils, was our manifesto commitment

We can be proud that schools will now receive £918 per pupil on free school meals.

 

However, I believe we can go further…    too little attention is paid to a child’s first five years

This is why the Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for high quality affordable childcare, so that all children are getting a fairer start in life

This is why we will continue to argue for free school meals for infants; so all children are receiving a healthy lunch, regardless of their background

And this is exactly why we are committed to extending our Pupil Premium to under 5s

So that no child is left behind

Time and again, It is the Welsh Liberal Democrats that are the party of ideas

That is how we can make the difference

And that is how we will build a fairer society

 

Welsh people aren’t just concerned about the state of our schools, its our NHS too

Cancer waiting time targets never met

A&E targets routinely missed

the slowest ambulance response times in the UK

Patients deserve better than this

NHS staff deserve better than this

Wales deserves better than this.

Yet we understand there is no simple quick fix

But we are a responsible opposition with good policies

Our idea of a Health Technology Fund – a proposal that Labour has adopted  – Invests in modern medical technologies to help ensure that Welsh patients get better treatment

Our Intermediate Care Fund, negotiated as part of our price for supporting the last budget – will be supporting independent living for those who need health, housing and social care – relieving the stress off our A&E departments

But more must be done

We are putting forward affordable policies that can make the difference

Policies that make clinical sense

That is why we are leading the campaign for the ‘More nurses bill,’

so there will be a minimum ratio of nurses to patients in our hospitals

Low staffing levels were cited as one of the reasons for the horrific failings at Mid Staffordshire Trust

And there is a clear link between staffing levels and quality of care

Wales has the lowest ratio of nurses to patients compared to any other part of the UK

We want to ensure that we have safe staffing levels in our hospitals.

This Bill – a Welsh Liberal Democrat Bill – will ensure safe and compassionate care by having the right number of nurses on our wards.

I thank everyone who has done so much to help with this campaign

Already thousands of people have signed the petition to support the Bill

But the hard work has just started

This Bill must become law

You can help us – I want you to take this petition out into your community, spread the message, tell people that it is the Welsh Liberal Democrats who are leading the charge for safe hospitals

This will be the biggest campaign we have ever led in Wales and

We will not stop, until we give nurses the time they need to care

That is how we will help build a fairer society.

 

But of course, we must also have a stronger economy

Conference, with Liberal Democrats in Government,

the UK economy is strengthening.

Yet economic inactivity in Wales remains higher than the UK average

Productivity in Wales is weak and below all English regions.

The Welsh Government claims that its version of Enterprise Zones will be our economy’s saviour

Yet, despite being set up in 2011, we still wait for anything of substance to come from them

The Government won’t tell us what they’re for, their objectives, or even how their success will be measured

This is no way to do business

Wales needs a government that will create the conditions needed to help businesses expand and create further jobs.

Liberal Democrats in the UK Government are offering a National Insurance allowance of £2,000 for each small business to help them grow -We need more ambition like that here in Wales.

 

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will also continue to campaign for more apprenticeships

Nick Clegg and Vince Cable have fought to ensure there has been an 83% increase in the number of apprenticeships offered in England since 2010

Already over 1.6 million apprenticeships have been created

That is a record to be proud of

Yet, in Wales, under Labour, the number has fallen by almost a third and communities risk losing a generation of talented young people

At the end of last year the Welsh Liberal Democrats launched our report, ‘Widening Access to Apprenticeships’

We called on the Welsh Government to look at practical ways to encourage young people to take up an apprenticeship

And we want to help businesses take on apprentices so that they can start life with good skills and a decent pay check

We put forward the ideas, yet still the Welsh Government dithers

Too many young people in Wales remain jobless

We can’t allow a generation of Wales’ talented young people to be left behind

Conference, we need ambition here in Wales

These young people need our support

And the Welsh Liberal Democrats have the ideas that can help them,

And help to build a stronger economy and a fairer society.

For those that do have a job, many still struggle to pay the bills

I’m sorry to say that Wales has a low wage economy

And we need to help those that are struggling to make ends meets to make our society fairer

And the timing of this conference couldn’t be better:

Smack bang on the front page of our 2010 manifesto was our promise to raise the Income Tax threshold to £10,000

This weekend, we have delivered on that commitment.

While Labour cut the 10p tax rate – clobbering Wales’ lowest paid workers with higher tax bills,

We have done the exact opposite

Because of the Liberal Democrats, 144,000 of the lowest paid workers in Wales will no longer pay a single penny of Income Tax

and over a million people have seen their taxes cut by £700 compared to what they paid under Labour

Conference, it is our job to keep reminding people why this is happening

David Cameron said the policy was unaffordable

Nick Clegg had to drag the Tories kicking and screaming to agree to it

Conference, we need to get out there selling our message that the Liberal Democrats are standing up for Wales

Helping those on low and middle incomes

And helping those that want to work and get on in life.

 

You know, one year ago, Danny Alexander, came to our party Conference and told us to expect a positive UK Government response to the Silk Commission’s report on fiscal devolution

And we got it

Polls consistently show that the people of Wales are strong believers in further devolution

And that’s what Liberal Democrats are delivering.

The publication of the Draft Wales Bill makes this another important year for Welsh politics

It’s been a struggle, let’s face it: David Jones is hardly the most pro-devolution Minister we could ask for

Against much Tory resistance, Liberal Democrat Ministers fought hard in making further devolution for Wales a reality

There were many doubters and we have proven them wrong.

However, we must never forget that this is isn’t just about more powers for the sake of it

Liberal Democrats are giving Wales the tools to do the job

To help build a stronger economy, and a fairer society.

We have delivered Silk 1,

and I am delighted that Nick Clegg joined us this weekend and made absolutely clear that he will be pushing for the proposals in Silk 2 to be in our manifesto.

We have proven that if you want further devolution for Wales,

Then the Welsh Liberal Democrats are the only party to vote for

Neither Labour nor the Tories want progress

They are a barrier to the people having more of a say over their lives.

But bringing decisions closer to the people is in Welsh Liberal Democrat DNA.

Plaid Cymru are merely a wasted vote

They may shout from the sidelines,

But they can offer nothing but words

It is the Welsh Liberal Democrats who are using our influence in the Coalition Government to make things happen

We have a proud record on devolution and Conference, we will not stop now.  We will keep the momentum going.

 

Now, Conference, a quick quiz for you,

“What exactly did they do for 15 years?

they produced targets they never met. 

spent eye-watering amounts… 

and all for what? Absolutely nothing.”

No, believe it or not, on this occasion it wasn’t me.

This was Carwyn Jones only last month, describing the Welsh Development Agency

‘Pot, Kettle, Black’ – springs to mind

After all, it’s been nearly 15 years since Wales first received structural funds from the EU

Since then we have benefitted from £6bn of European Aid

Yet Welsh Labour have squandered it

They jeopardized what that EU funding could have brought to Wales

Most regions that received this money made the most of it and no longer rely on it

Yet in Wales we got relatively poorer.

Labour described this aid as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’

But they blew it.

If there is anyone who can be accused of missing targets,

spending eye-watering amounts,

and achieving nothing in 15 years,

then we need look no further than this Welsh Labour Government.

For me, the message from all of this is loud and clear

Labour can’t be trusted with the economy,

Labour can’t be trusted to help business,

And most of all,

Labour can not be trusted to get value for tax payer’s money

Not only are we the party campaigning to stay IN Europe, but we are the party that would make best use of Europe.

In a few weeks time people will be voting in the European elections.

I can’t think of a set of Euro elections more important for a long time

It’s now become a referendum on the EU:

Are you In or are you Out?

People have endured tough economic years

They are concerned for themselves and their families and UKIP have tapped into these fears

But conference, the very worst thing that could happen for our economy, for Welsh livelihoods, is to pull out of the EU

Thousands of jobs lost and livelihoods taken away

We can’t and won’t let that happen

Over 160,000 jobs in Wales are reliant on trade within the EU’s single market.

That’s more than 1 in every 10 jobs

Airbus, in North Wales, have already voiced concerns over the prospect of us leaving the EU. Why would we threaten so many jobs for no good reason?

BAE Systems employs around 400 staff at its factory at Glascoed in Monmouthshire.  They’ve argued we should stay IN.  Again, why threaten these jobs?

Ford, whose base in Bridgend will increase employment to over 2,000 people this year, have warned leaving the EU would be disastrous for the UK.

 

Conference, we can’t let the eurosceptics win the argument and throw our economic recovery away.

That would be catastrophic

We want to be both IN Europe and IN work

 

Conference, It is now 100 years since the First World War

I doubt there is a single person in this room here today who has family that was not affected

There has been much discussion on how to commemorate this centenary

How to do it justice

It’s difficult

We must remember the soldiers that gave their lives,

the families torn apart,

the lost generation

We must remember how the second World War soon followed,

With more devastation

But we should also remember how we’ve had relative peace ever since.

Never again can we let Wales, the United Kingdom and our neighbours endure such colossal pain

And no one can tell me European countries working closer together, hasn’t helped maintain peace.

There are many ways to remember,

One way I will do so is by remembering how we are here today, living in relative peace,

The EU has certainly played its part

we must never forget that. And we should have the courage and conviction to say so.

Our message is loud and clear:

we are the only party of IN

Our European candidate, Alec Dauncey, has been taking part in hustings across the country making a strong argument that Wales and the UK must remain in the EU

He has shown that he is up for the fight and willing to make the case for ‘IN’

There is simply no point in voting Labour in the European elections,

They are too scared to have a voice on Europe and squandered billions of EU funds

 

The Tories are a mess

Cameron continues to pander to Euro-skeptics and to UKIP

He might even take us completely Out just to appease some of his right wing MPs

And then of course, there is Plaid Cymru – who want to have their cake and eat it.

They cannot credibly call for Welsh independence yet proclaim they stand for Europe

Plaid might be infighting and sacking people over attacks on UKIP

But the irony is: they have similarities

They are two separatist parties

And both of them could take us Out of the EU

Their dream of independence could threaten thousands of jobs

Yes they sneer at UKIP,

But then again, even the captain of our rugby team isn’t Welsh enough for them

 

Conference, you don’t fight little England nationalism by trumping it with Welsh nationalism.

The people of Wales have a choice on May 22nd

If you want Out

Then UKIP is the best way to go

However, if you want to make a positive choice,

To make a positive statement,

then I urge you to vote for the party of IN,

The Welsh Liberal Democrats

 

Friends,

In Westminster we can be proud that we are delivering a fairer society that the Tories simply don’t care about.

And in Wales, we see heart-breaking evidence which clearly demonstrates that the Labour party is incapable of building a stronger economy.

 

I spoke to you earlier about the Labour Tory war.

They paint it as a war because that’s their comfort zone

Education, health and the economy – these are all secondary to them

The fact is, it’s not a real war. In truth the Tory Party and the Labour Party are hand in glove.

For years those parties have conspired to ensure that politics has been about a false choice.

A false choice between Labour domination or unbridled Tory rule

A false choice between Thatcherite, free market, winner-takes-all callousness

or stultifying Labour-government-knows-best command and control.

A  false choice between a fairer society or a stronger economy

For decades, our party has been fighting against that false choice.

Nick Clegg has broken that barrier down, showing that the Liberal Democrats in coalition can deliver both a stronger economy and a fairer society.

Wales needs the same approach in the Welsh Government

Through our budget negotiations, we have shown that we are the party of good ideas.

The opposition, like the Government, are wedded to their ideological dogma

Labour and Plaid –  forever competing over the old ideas of left wing socialism – that can’t build a stronger economy

The Tories – planning to charge patients to use the NHS and bringing back grammar schools – they become more right wing by the day and can’t build a fairer society

It is only the Welsh Liberal Democrats that can provide a true alternative

a progressive and inclusive party of Government

That will put the people of Wales first:

Bringing new ideas,

Ambitious for our citizens,

Hungry for Welsh success

anchoring our government in the centre ground

building the stronger economy and the fairer society that the people of Wales deserve

 

 

 

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social